Enterprises Increasingly Embracing Hybrid IT to Transform Digitally

An increasing number of enterprises are embracing “hybrid IT” to cope with their digital transformation struggles, and also to make sure that the complexity of their IT systems do not jeopardize performance, agility or security, according a study by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services.
Hybrid IT is a way of managing an IT environment that includes not only hybrid cloud systems but also legacy software that may be hosted in a corporate data center or by a third party.
In a massive poll of 300 IT leaders across the world, more than 62% of respondents indicated they are pursuing a hybrid IT approach to keep up with their existing infrastructure, while 72% of them opined that outsourcing their IT infrastructure would help them stay on top of technology change.
The report confirms that many organizations still use on-premises and in-house delivery for certain systems.
“The vast majority of CIOs and line of business owners are working within the constraints of legacy apps, networks and investments,” said Chris Yousey, vice president of managed services for Verizon Enterprise Solutions, a unit of US telecom firm that sponsored the report.
It is true that some firms are staying away from cloud because they are unclear as to how to deal with the challenges cloud deployment poses, namely security, integration with other systems, and integrating multiple clouds.
Yet cloud is not losing its allure at all. About 59% of CIOs surveyed said that their organizations’ use of cloud computing has improved their marketplace competitiveness. Lower cost of ownership, ease of collaboration, and increased application availability are some of the major factors driving cloud deployments.
The report concludes that hybrid IT is the best even as it concedes that a majority of firms are struggling to deploy it. “We believe hybrid IT is the right model for many organizations as they transform digitally,” Yousey added.
“This approach helps meet the business demand to support and accelerate innovation while enabling the IT function to plan for the future. It also helps reduce the risks associated with the complexity inherent in most systems today.”